


The Little Clay Cat Sees All

by ChibiYoda



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Science Boyfriends, Science Bros, This Is My Ship and It Has Wrecked Me, Tony Expresses Himself Through Actions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-21
Updated: 2014-12-21
Packaged: 2018-03-02 13:48:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2814182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiYoda/pseuds/ChibiYoda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony wants Bruce to move in with him. Bruce will have to figure that out for himself, though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Little Clay Cat Sees All

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a Steve/Tony prompt that asked for this situation: instead of Tony coming out and asking Steve to move in with him, he begins to move Steve's stuff in. Since I only think in terms of Science Boyfriends, I had to change that. :)

Never in Bruce’s wildest dreams could he have imagined that he would end up back in New York and residing in a luxury suite in Tony Stark’s skyscraper. And he’d have had to suspend disbelief even further in order to picture himself in a relationship with the man. But here he was, and there they were, and in some miraculous way it seemed to be working. Maybe he shouldn't have been quite so surprised. His life was nothing if not a sum of highly improbable events.

He had proceeded with as much caution as delving into involvement with Tony would allow. Bruce didn't need another disaster in his life. But as time passed, their bond only strengthened, and he forgot about the constant need to prepare for the worst. Things progressed at a steady pace, almost instinctively. They began sharing living space more and more, and sharing a bed more often than not. Tony’s, more often than not.

And then Bruce began to notice a number of oddities. At first he didn't think much of the seemingly unrelated incidents. Tony usually had a reasonable explanation. Or at least he tried to have one.

 

He woke one morning, bright and early. As he was climbing out of bed, intending to head back to his suite to get ready for the day, he spotted something rolled up and leaning against the nightstand. He uncurled it. It was a yoga mat. Very similar to the one he owned, but a different color. He heard Tony's voice.

"Got that for you."

Bruce turned to see that Tony had woken up. "You didn't have to do that. I bought one not too long ago." He was puzzled.

"Yeah, " Tony started, "but it's all the way in your room. I thought you could just use this one when you're here. There's plenty of room out on the patio to do all that stretching and stuff. It'd be a nice change of scenery for you."

"Oh...sure. That's a nice idea. Thanks." Although Bruce appreciated the gesture, he really couldn't fathom why Tony bothered with such a thing.

 

Then there was the time when the two were going to watch a show that they had recorded earlier in the week. Tony was getting beverages from the kitchen, while Bruce skimmed through the recordings in search of it. As he went down the list, he noticed an episode of a program that was a favorite of his, but that Tony had no interest in. Bruce had the series set to record on the DVR in his suite, and would always watch it there.

When Tony arrived with the drinks, Bruce asked, "I think you recorded this one by mistake. I know you can't stand this show. Want me to delete it?"

Tony looked over to the television, noting what Bruce was referring to. "No, that's ok. I know you really like it, so I set it up to record here...just incase your machine screws up or something." He set their beverages on the table. "You know, you can watch it here, if you want. It's not like I completely hate the program and forbid it to be shown on this tv."

"Um...ok." Bruce didn't get it, but he didn't see a need to question it either.

 

Then came the clothing mysteries...

They were getting ready for bed, when Tony casually mentioned...

"Ingrid must have mixed up some of our laundry. I didn't want her to feel bad about it, so I just kept 'em here." He pointed across the room. "I'm not using that dresser anyway, so there's plenty of room."

Since when did Tony not use a dresser? The man had more clothes than any person Bruce had ever met. Bruce went to the bureau in question, and opened a drawer. "But Tony, I do my own laundry. I don't see how she could have left some of my socks and underwear in your room."

Tony merely chalked it up to 'stranger things have happened'.

A day later, Bruce became aware that a few of his shirts and a couple of pairs of pants were missing from his closet. Tony's response to that revelation?

"All of the dry cleaning delivery was left in the master bedroom. I guess she didn't realize that a few of your things were mixed in."

Bruce cocked an eyebrow at him. Unlike Tony's wardrobe, none of Bruce's clothes required dry cleaning.

Tony went on. "I figured it would be a good idea to leave them here. You never know when we might get an emergency call in the middle of the night to save the world. So it would be beneficial to all if you had some clothes here, instead of having to run all the way back to your place."

"But my place is only two floors down."

"Yes, but every second is precious in a crisis situation. Do you really want to put the planet at that much risk?"

Bruce just smiled at him. "You're right Tony. It's a very prudent time-saver."

Tony beamed.

 

It got to the point where every time Bruce turned around in the penthouse, something familiar to him popped up. The refrigerator and cupboards in Tony's kitchen were stocked with Bruce's favorite snacks and beverages. Copies of the books found on his bookshelf suddenly appeared in Tony's library. The elaborate sound system was filled with music that Bruce was fond of. Something was up, and even though Bruce suspected, he wasn't sure until the afternoon that he spotted the little clay cat sitting on the coffee table in the living room.

Bruce didn't have many keepsakes from the time he’d spent in hiding. Moving from place to place at a moment's notice meant travelling light. But one thing that he managed to keep with him was a small clay figurine of a cat. It was given to him by an 8 year old Haitian girl, as thanks to the doctor from America who helped her father feel better again. She'd made it herself. A simple shape, without paint or adornments. So nondescript in form, but replete with meaning. It was one of Bruce's favorite things.

"Tony, how did this little cat get from my suite to this table?" he asked calmly.

It seemed as though Tony was trying to gauge Bruce's level of irritation before speaking. "Well you see, you spend a lot of your time here, with me, and I thought it might be nice...for you...if maybe there was something of yours here...to make you feel more comfortable." Tony continued nervously. "And it's a great conversation piece. Heartwarming story and all. Everyone will get a kick out of it."

Bruce had observed enough and heard enough. If Tony was afraid to ask, he would just have to help him out. "Tony, do you want me to move in with you?"

Naturally Tony had to puff his chest and explain how he was merely viewing it from a logical standpoint. "You know we usually end up here, one way or another. More space than your place. And most nights we sleep in my bed. Though your place is very convenient, as it's closer to the lab, so of course you can keep that. But it would be much more efficient for you to just stay here full-time."

Since Tony wasn't the type that was usually coy about letting his thoughts be known, Bruce was quite charmed by his roundabout way of telling him he'd like to truly share his home with him. "Well, for the sake of efficiency..."

He wrapped his arms around the engineer's neck and kissed him, as the little clay cat looked on.

**Author's Note:**

> Written in April 2013. Revised in December 2014.


End file.
